Meeting at last

[Celduil]

The lithe figure slipped through the woods shadowed by night unnoticed. It moved toward the river bank, where it crouched to fill its waterskin with the waters from the flowing stream. The lone figure was a male elf of moon elven descent, familiar to this part of the woods. He was dressed in the dark hues of the woodlands, appearing almost black in the shadows the trees cast into the night, with a full quiver on his back and a graceful longsword sheathed from his hip. The elf moved with ease among the trunks of the trees, seeming as perfectly at ease within them as if he were travelling through them in the day. While he sat motionless beside the banks of the dark-flowing river, a hauntingly familiar and beautful melody glided through the air to meet his ears. It brought him to an earlier time of joy and song, of family and honor the elf had thought long since lost. Standing slowly from the river, he looked around wearily for the source of the beautifully familiar melody.

Illuminated by the starlight some distance away sat an elven maiden upon a log felled by the orcs, singing gently to the stars and the moon while carefully and tenderly polishing the longsword which glowed like the purest mithral on her lap. She was dressed in glistening silver armor of chain, and a faint radiance of light permeated from her. Whether it was magic or not was unknown, but it made her look even more stunning, giving her an almost ethereal look.

The figure by the river paused, looking at the singer in disbelief at what he saw. A million emotions flooded through him at that moment - joy, saddness, shame and amazement being just a few of them. He concentrated on the song she was singing in elven, the language of their people. It was one he'd once sung in the great feast halls of the fortress he had grown up in long ago, accompanied by his sister as they'd danced and sung and generally enjoyed life. Those memories were cobwebs now, as the elf rarely dwelled upon them in reverie, unable to face the pain the thoughts of them would cause. Now those memories flooded to him unabated, and for long moments he could do nothing but stare and listen. The elf maiden stopped and looked about, as if she knew something was amiss. Then she stood, her graceful frame contrasting from the darkness close by her, and she was looking straight at him.

Feeling guilty at disrupting her from her beautiful song, the elf found wits enough to move his legs one by one in her direction, burdened at first, but gradually lightening as the distance between them closed. He moved into the starlit glade occupied by his sister. She stood staring at him with a surprised look on her face, her longsword clasped in one hand lowering to the ground. A million questions filled both their minds, but none of them could gain purchase, and for a long while neither of them said anything. Their light-green eyes meeting they stared at each other in silence. Then the blade dropped completely from her hand, and she slowly walked over to him and wrapped her arms about him.

She lead him over to the log where she had been sitting and took up her sword, once more laying it on her lap and beckoning for him to join her. The two spoke at length under the stars, sharing both their tales since last they had met.

//To steal a leaf from Laisren...